


Once and Again

by Flynne



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Older Woman/Younger Man, Smitten Puppy Inquisitor, Trespasser DLC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 17:36:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21396046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flynne/pseuds/Flynne
Summary: Two conversations, one before and one (almost) after the Exalted Council."These are uncertain times, but if we wait for certainty, the only thing that is certain is that we will keep waiting."
Relationships: Cassandra Pentaghast/Male Trevelyan, Male Inquisitor/Cassandra Pentaghast
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	Once and Again

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Fictober 2019. Prompt: "Listen. No, really listen."

“Marriage?”

“Yes! You are here to propose, are you not?”

Max stared at her, confusion and a startling thrill of elation temporarily rendering him speechless. 

Cassandra’s expression darkened. “You are _not _here to propose.”

“Well…I mean, not right at this _moment_, no…”

She made an explosive sound of disgust and pushed himself to her feet. “I am going to _kill _Varric! Why do I believe everything he tells me? Why?”

“Well - hang on,” Max stammered, scrambling after her. “I mean…I wasn’t going to propose to you right _now_, not the day before the Exalted Council, but…well, Varric wasn’t _wrong_. I-I don’t know how he knew, but…”

She rounded on him in surprise, and Max’s face flamed hot under her scrutinizing gaze. “You can’t be serious.”

“See, you always say that, and yet…” He shrugged, smiling sheepishly. “I’m still here. Though after what you said just now, you’ve got me a little worried. Were you…trying to talk me out of it?”

Her shoulders slumped and she motioned him back to the stairs, sitting beside him again with a sigh. “I don’t know.”

“Did you really mean what you said?” he pressed, gentle but insistent. “You’re afraid of what it would ‘do to us’? What do you think will happen?”

For once, she didn’t meet his eyes when she answered. “This is an uncertain time. And who knows what the future will bring? You are young, and - ”

“I’m older now than I was when we first met,” Max interrupted, stung. “You’re not - you don’t honestly think I’d change my mind? After all this time? There’s nobody for me but you, you know that.”

Cassandra took his hand, gave an apologetic little squeeze. “I know. I did not intend for it to sound like that. I am sorry.”

“Then what did you mean?” Max sat forward to look at her, holding her hand tightly in return. “I _want _to marry you, Cassandra. But if you don’t want me to ask you…”

“Perhaps one day,” she said gently. “You’ll ask me again, and I will act very surprised. Whatever comes next will not be easy - for us, or anyone - but you do not have to fight for me. I am not going anywhere. Not even if the Maker himself tries to stop me.”

Max leaned in to rest his head on her shoulder, ignoring the mild discomfort from the ridges of her armor and the not-so-mild ache inside his chest. “I’d like to see him try.”

She huffed, not quite a laugh, and reached up to cradle the back of his head, lightly scritching the shorn stubble with her gloved fingertips. “Do you believe me?”

“Always,” he murmured, truthful and earnest even after being deferred. “I love you.”

“I know,” she told him softly. “I love you, too.”

\---------------------------------

Cassandra was holding his hand. He was barely awake, couldn’t yet find the strength to open his eyes, but he knew it was her. No glove, no armor, just a familiar callused palm against his own. His thumb twitched, then glided, tracing a scar on the back of her hand. He felt her startle, and her strong, narrow fingers tightened around his. “Max?”

He squeezed back. He was weak as water but she felt it anyway, and he heard the rustle of movement, felt her draw near. Her other hand, cool on the side of his face. “Are you awake? Can you hear me?”

When he opened his eyes, she was there. Her face was drawn and lined with worry, but the hope that brightened her eyes when he looked at her was beautiful. He managed a smile. “Hi, Cassie.”

Her grip on his hand when she pressed it to her lips was almost painful. “Thank the Maker.” She breathed the half-formed prayer into his skin before kissing the back of his hand again. “Are you all right? How do you feel?”

“A little, um. Fuzzy.” 

“Are you in any pain?”

He licked his dry lips as he took sluggish mental inventory of himself. He was warm beneath the blanket, even with his torso bare aside from the bandages he could feel winding up his left biceps to his shoulder. His left side felt disorientingly light and heavy at the same time, and although he knew what he would - or wouldn’t - see if he turned his head, he was afraid to look. But for the moment at least, he wasn’t hurting. “No…Should I be?”

“I hope not.” 

“What happened?”

She sighed a little, understanding what he meant. “Nothing has happened. The Exalted Council has come to a standstill - in spite of the Fereldan ambassador’s efforts - and no decision has been made. Although it cannot stay that way for long. Orlais has been willing to wait for your recovery so far but they are growing impatient.”

“‘M’surprised they’re not all sitting on my bed waiting,” he grumbled.

“I have no doubt they have considered it,” she said wryly. 

Max smiled a little and fell silent, content just to gaze at her as she sat beside him. He’d been the one to bring it up but he really didn’t want to think about the Exalted Council or anything else outside this room. Even in his hazy state, though, he could tell that Cassandra was preoccupied. He recognized the distant look in her eyes that meant she was turning something over in her mind. 

When she realized he was watching her she started slightly, but soon relaxed, enfolding his hand gently within both of hers. “Max. I have been thinking.”

“I could tell. Any longer and smoke would start to come out of your ears.”

She didn’t acknowledge his teasing. Her brows drew together as she shifted to sit a little closer, unusually hesitant. “This…may not be the best time to bring this up,” she said slowly, “but I’ve decided that waiting for opportune moments could mean the moment may never come.” She met his gaze, face stern but starting to turn pink. “I have been thinking about our discussion the other day. About marriage.”

“Cassandra.” Max’s voice cracked dryly and he tried again. “It’s all right, you - you’re all I want, I’m happy, you don’t have to - ”

She cut him off, gentle but irresistible. “Listen. No, _really _listen.” Max subsided, heart thudding against his sternum, nervous but desperate to hear what she would say. Her face was solemn as it ever was, but there was a warmth and softness in her eyes that she only ever showed to him. “You are the one I love,” she said quietly. “There will never be another. And despite what I said the other day, or how it sounded, I know that you feel the same way about me. These are uncertain times, but if we wait for certainty, the only thing that is certain is that we will keep waiting. I should not have discouraged you.” Her voice wavered a little, but her gaze was steady, and she gave him a faint, tender smile. “Ask me again.”

Max’s chest hitched. “Y-you mean that?” Cassandra just kept watching him with her little smile. Max took an unsteady breath, and let out a shaky laugh because if he didn’t laugh he’d do something stupid like burst into tears. “Okay. Okay.” He swallowed hard to keep his heart from climbing into his throat. “Cassandra?” 

“Yes?”

“Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena - ” The noise Cassandra made would have been described as a disgusted scoff, if her expression were any less fond. Max held her hand more tightly. “Will you do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage?”

Her eyes narrowed, and in spite of his exhaustion and the loss of his arm and everything looming with the still-unresolved Exalted Council, Max grinned back at her - because he knew the look on her face and he loved it. It was the look that said _Did he just say what I think he said? Maker save me, he **did**._ It was a look that he knew well, and it never failed to delight him, because it always started with exasperation and disbelief but ended with affection and an attempt to hold back a reluctantly amused smile. Her expression this time was a bit strained from lingering worry, but it was still the same as always.

“Considering that it is the only hand you have left…” Her dry tone softened, and she lifted their joined hands to kiss his knuckles. “Someone should make sure it is taken care of.”

The fluttering inside his ribs made it hard to breathe. “S-so…that’s a yes?”

She smiled, bright and clear and joyful. “Of course it is.” 

Another choked little sound escaped, and for a moment Max thought maybe he’d do something stupid after all, but Cassandra rescued him, as always. She moved to sit facing him on the bed and slid her arms behind him to help him sit up, and then she kissed him until everything else faded away. 

When his scant strength started to fade, he curled his arm around her and hid his face against her neck. Cassandra could feel the faint tremors running through him as he leaned into her, and she lightly brushed the backs of her fingers against his cheek. “Are you all right?”

He didn’t move, didn’t open his eyes. “Mm-hm.”

“You should rest.”

“I am resting.” He nuzzled closer. “Just a little longer.”

Her soft huff of laughter tickled his ear, but she held him closer and ran her hand soothingly down his spine. “All right,” she said gently. “A little longer.”


End file.
